China has launched live-fire military drills around Taiwan, in what it calls a warning to “separatist” forces in Taiwan and “external interference” by foreign parties.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) – the military wing of the ruling Communist party in China – said it had sent naval, air force and rocket forces to surround Taiwan on Monday morning.
The exercise, named Justice Mission 2025, was a “a stern warning against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces”, said a spokesperson for the PLA’s eastern theatre command, Col Shi Yi.
“It is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity.”
On Monday morning Taiwan’s defence ministry accused Beijing of escalating tensions and undermining regional peace. It “strongly condemned” the activity, saying it dispatched “appropriate forces” to respond and conduct counter combat-readiness exercises of its own.
“Defending democracy and freedom is no provocation, and the existence of the Republic of China [Taiwan’s formal name] is not an excuse for aggressors to disrupt the status quo,” the ministry said.
Beijing claims Taiwan is a Chinese province and is preparing to annex it. It is undergoing a massive military modernisation and expansion drive, with the aim of being capable of invasion by 2027, according to US intelligence from several years ago.
The Chinese Communist party (CCP) and its leader, Xi Jinping, have urged Taiwan to accept “peaceful reunification”, deploying a range of encouragements but mostly threats and coercive actions that have intensified in recent years. However, the vast majority of Taiwan’s parliament and people reject the prospect of CCP rule, and Taiwan is boosting its own military defences in resistance.
The PLA’s drills – its first targeting Taiwan since April – come amid weeks of spiralling relations with Japan after its prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country would likely become militarily involved if China attacked Taiwan. It also follows an approval by the US government for $11bn in weapons sales to Taiwan, and recent speeches by Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, vowing to boost Taiwan’s defences and achieve a “high level of combat preparedness” by 2027.
All drew furious reaction from Beijing.
In a statement announcing the drills, China’s eastern theatre command said: “The vessels and aircraft will approach the Taiwan Island in close proximity from different directions to test the capabilities of the troops to conduct rapid manoeuvres, form all-dimensional posture, and execute systemic blockade and control.”
The announcement included maps indicating air and maritime areas to avoid, in three large zones around the southern point of Taiwan, and two to its north and north-west.
Justice Mission 2025 is the sixth major PLA military exercise targeting Taiwan since it launched major exercises in 2022 in retaliation for the then US speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting the island. In April it held a two-day operation dubbed Strait Thunder-2025A, prompting speculation there would be a “B” before year’s end.
Taiwanese national security officials have been warning of the likelihood of large-scale drills as part of its pressure campaign against Tokyo following Takaichi’s remarks, said William Yang, senior Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group. Yang also noted it was the first major exercise during the second term of the US president, Donald Trump, who met with Xi in October but didn’t discuss Taiwan.
Yang said: “Beijing will likely take into account the response from the US [to these drills] and carefully determine how it should formulate and plan the PLA’s military operation.”
